Equally interesting is a short list of novels that are on Van Pelt’s bookshelf, above his laptop, because they have shaped his ideas about what constitutes outstanding story and outstanding writing. One of the books: Out of the Silent Planet (1938), by C. S. Lewis.As Van Pelt notes, “This is the first of a trilogy, and they are all worth the time, but I liked this one best. Lewis's style has that pleasant formality that lends weight to the events. The first copy that I owned was printed in England, and the smell of the book has been associated with fine literature in my mind ever since.”

"I'm an optimist. I discard all such dark tomorrows. I have faith in man as God and God as man; I believe we'll be immortal, seed the stars and live forever in the flesh of our children. That's my job as a writer -- to show man his basic goodness, to dramatize his struggle up and away from this planet." -- RB